Lately I have been on a storage kick. From the 32GB Leef Pro, to the 128GB Toshiba Thumb Drive, to the 64GB SanDisk Connect Wireless Thumb Drive, to the more recently acquired 128GB SanDisk MicroSD card. I might have an addiction to having more storage options and ways to access it than really needed. However, the whole purpose is more so for you guys then me. With so many various storage solution out there, I want to check out as many viable solutions as possible to help you guys make a decision on what you might be looking for in your Android life. The latest addition to the storage solution battle comes from Leef with the Leef Access micro SD reader for Android.
- 1 Leef Access micro SD card reader device
Nothing more and nothing less. The Leef Access measures in at 1.18 x 1.18 x 0.35 inches ( 30 x 30 x 9 mm). It is pretty close to the same size as a quarter. (IMG below: Quarter underneath the Leef Access)
How does it Perform
The performance is based on your device, or device, being about to use it. You need OTG support on your device in order to recognize the card reader. Most newer phones and tablets don’t have any issues. Without issue I slipped a Leef Pro 32 GB card into the Access and plugged it into my Sony Xperia Z. The phone easily read the Access and the card. You treat the extra addition just like built-in storage or like a micro SD card in your device. Open your file explorer app and you can view, transfer or delete files at will.
I really like the small compact size of the device. Even though it is tiny, it offers the lanyard/keychain holes to attach it easily to something that I won’t loose. Leef could have easily left the card reader alone with the one active card slot, but adding in the additional slot for easily carrying more storage was a nice touch.
While the Access is waterproof and dust proof, it isn’t bend proof. While I am pretty careful with things I carry around, accidents can happen. I am not all that keen that there isn’t a cap or cover to help further protect the Access’s micro USB tip from possibly being bent. On the same note, lint is the evil spawn of dust bunnies. In the off chance that pocket lint comes into play in your life, there is the real possibility that it could get stuck inside the card slot or the usb plug.
I am sure those are insane and rather ridiculous things to consider, but it is something that occurred to me that might be important to you.
Over All thoughts
The Leef Access is a standalone device purchase. It doesn’t come with a micro SD card, so you will need to provide your own. This actually helps keep the cost down dramatically. With SanDisk and Samsung always having Micro SD card sales on Amazon you probably already have two or three micro SD cards sitting around anyways. It never hurts to have ways to transport those cards and to access their content without having to unmount the one in your phone and swapping them all the time. That being said, you will be pretty happy to find out that the Leef Access is only $9.99. So even if you have fears of lint and a bent usb plug, they are inexpensive enough to have a couple around. Plus it comes with a 5-year limited warranty.
Don’t go jumping up and down and hitting buy buy buy just yet though. The Leef Access has become a rather sought after little guy. Leef’s site is sold out at the moment, but they will be stocked back up on April 14th. You can pre-order one now though as long as you are willing to wait a bit for it to ship. While you are there, you can also pick up a Leef Pro MicroSD card for 20% off to accompany the Access.
Bounce on over to 2leef.com and take a look and pre-order a Leef Access today.
